THE INTERNATIONAL agriculture industry is frantically trying to work through the implications of a shock decision in Brazil to ban the use of the herbicide glyphosate.

It has been confirmed a Brazilian federal judge has banned the use of any crop protection product containing glyphosate until there are further toxicology tests conducted.

A full toxicity study for a herbicide product can take in the order of three to four years.

The decision has caught many by surprise, especially as ANVISA, the Brazilian regulatory body that plays a similar role to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in Australia, currently has a position that glyphosate is safe for use, however under Brazilian law the judge is authorised to make such a decision.

“In evaluations spanning four decades, the overwhelming conclusion of experts worldwide – including ANVISA, national regulatory authorities in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and other countries, as well as international science and health organizations – has been that glyphosate can be used safely,” Ms Buckland said.

She said glyphosate was critical for Brazilian farmers.

“Glyphosate is a vital tool for Brazilian agriculture. For more than 40 years, Brazilian farmers and other users have depended on glyphosate-based products to help them control weeds.”

The Brazil decision comes just months after the European Union came within a hair’s breadth of banning glyphosate.

It has been an annus horribilis for manufacturers of the herbicide as there is also a high profile court case in California where a groundskeeper is seeking damages from Monsanto after developing cancer, which he claims was caused by exposure to glyphosate.